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Topic: ICE Idea (Read 5346 times)

A recent article from the Toronto Star, "the ICE idea", is catching on and it is a very simple, yet important method of contact for you or a loved one in case of an emergency. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is program the number of a contact person or persons and store the name as "ICE".

The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when they went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which numbers to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name to file "next of kin"under.

Following a disaster in London The East Anglican Ambulance Service has launched a national "In case of Emergency (ICE)" campaign. The idea is that you store the word "ICE " in your mobile phone address book, and with it enter the number of the person you would want to be contacted "In Case of Emergency". In an emergency situation, Emergency Services personnel and hospital staff would then be able to quickly contact your next of kin, by simply dialing the number programmed under "ICE".

The biggest problem with this now is that with the proliferation of smart phones, and the use of passcodes on them, it's now harder for paramedics to get to any ICE number stored on the phone, unless if the patient is conscious and able to unlock the phone, at which point they'd be able to tell you who to call anyway. :/

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For the love of meat, shut up! No one wants to hear your emo character background! My hands are literally melting away, and I'm complaining less than you!—K'seliss, Goblins

Addendum: If you're worried about smartphone locking and whatnot, or don't have a cell phone, write "ICE #: ###-###-####" on a slip of paper and keep it in your wallet, next to your id. They're going to be pulling your wallet anyway, just so they can figure out who you are. If it's right there, they're not likely to miss it.

The biggest problem with this now is that with the proliferation of smart phones, and the use of passcodes on them, it's now harder for paramedics to get to any ICE number stored on the phone, unless if the patient is conscious and able to unlock the phone, at which point they'd be able to tell you who to call anyway. :/

My Droid has a cool feature where I can set up ICE numbers that can be accessed straight from the passcode screen. I don't know if it's a stock Android thing or just Motorola, though.

I have found out that you can create a lock for just some numbers or files with certain apps under the new OS Jellybean (though the current Ice Cream can allegedly do it as well). This means you can have easy to access numbers and private numbers. Thus stopping some of the locking issues.